As the weather warms up and the sun shines in Sundre, people are advised to wear sunglasses to protect their eyes.
“Overexposure to ultra violet (UV) rays can sunburn your eyes,” said optometrist Margaret Penny from Sundre Vision Care.
“Although you might not see the damage right away, overexposure to sunlight can lead to the development of eye diseases such as growths, cataracts and age-related macular degeneration later in life.”
Overexposure to sunlight can also cause blurred vision, irritation, redness, tearing, temporary vision loss and even blindness.
She suggests wearing sunglasses to prevent these impairments from happening, but says not all sunglasses will do the job.
Not all lenses labelled ‘UV protection' have the appropriate level of protection. People are advised to wear sunglasses that block out 99 to 100 per cent of UV-A and UV-B radiation, and 75 to 90 per cent of visible light.
She also advises people to wear gray-coloured lenses, because they reduce the intensity of light without altering the colour of objects.
